


A Night to Forget

by KaijuDork



Category: Thor (2011)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-08
Updated: 2012-08-08
Packaged: 2017-11-11 17:57:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/481270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaijuDork/pseuds/KaijuDork
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Winter Feast and a night of Thor's drinking puts Loki in a position that is less than ideal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Night to Forget

“AH!” Sif gasped as lumps of a disintegrated snowball slid down the back of her tunic. Thor grinned mischievously from the other side of the clearing as he moulded another snowball in his gloved hands. Behind him the distant towers of Asgard shone brightly in the winter sun.

 

“Don’t you da- _LOKI!”_ Sif yelped as a huge pile of snow fell onto her head. The two sons of Odin were beside themselves with laughter, holding onto each other for support. Sif huffed and shook the snow out of her hair. “It’s not _that_ amusing.”

 

“Oh, but it is,” Loki giggled, raising his hand. He flicked his wrist slightly, and she just managed to jump out of the way as another pile of snow tumbled from the tree above.

 

“You’re both horrible young men!”

 

“I thought we were having a fight?” Thor said, “You can’t expect to have a snowball fight without getting hit with snow!”

 

“That-“ she pointed at the large pile of snow at her feet, “Was not a snowball. Loki brought that down with magic.”

 

“She has a point,” Thor said reasonably, turning back to Loki.

 

“So we don’t get an extra one hundred points, then?” he asked with a smirk.

 

Sif sighed. “No! Oh, and… Loki?”

 

“Ye-“ _Splat._ He stumbled backwards slightly, stunned, as he wiped the snow from his stinging face.

 

“Consider us even,” she said sweetly. She shaded her eyes and looked back towards the city. “Maybe we should go back – the sun is setting. We’ll miss the feast.”

 

Thor made a noise of agreement, and the three of them set off through the snow. They had not walked far when Loki stopped in his tracks. Thor gave him a quizzical look. “What is it, brother?”

 

“I’ve lost one of my rings. It must have fallen into the snow.” He said, looking uselessly around his feet. “Will you help me look for it?”

 

Sif sighed in exasperation, but Thor nodded. “I’ll help you look. Feel free to head on without us if you want, Sif.”

 

“Oh, I plan to. See you both at the feast!” She called over her shoulder as she trudged off into the gathering mist. Thor watched until she disappeared entirely and her crunching footfalls could no longer be heard. With a slight sigh he turned to help Loki, only to find him standing arms crossed with a sly smirk on his face. Thor raised an eyebrow. “What?”

 

“You _like_ her,” Loki teased.

 

“I do not!” he spluttered. If his cheeks were not already red from the cold, they would have glowed brightly at that moment.

 

“You do!”

 

“Oh, what of it?” Thor snapped, kicking at the snow. “Come on, we need to find your ring.”

 

“Oh, I never lost my ring,” Loki said nonchalantly. “I just wanted to see if my suspicions were correct.”

 

“Suspicions?” Thor growled, turning on his heel and stalking off towards the glowing palace.

 

“Yes, my suspicions that you were taken with Sif,” he grinned, trotting to catch up.

 

“You won’t tell anyone, will you?” his brother asked.

 

“I won’t.”

 

“Good. But it is not Sif that I wish to… never mind,” Thor cut himself off quickly, glancing at Loki sheepishly – almost guiltily – from the corner of his eye. Loki knew it would be unwise to continue the subject, so they walked silently through the forest for a short while before Thor spoke again;

 

“Since you now know who _I_ like, why don’t you tell me who has your heart? It’s only fair.”

 

“Me? I don’t _like_ anyone,” Loki replied simply.

 

“Brother, you are a talented liar but even you cannot hide this truth!” Thor laughed. “Come on, just between us! I won’t tell a single soul.”

 

“I don’t have anything to tell,” he said, growing slightly hot.

 

“Loki, your face deceives you. Being impervious to the cold is your downfall; Your face is as red as my cloak!”

 

“Now you are the one that’s lying,” Loki scoffed, tugging at his own, forest-green cloak.

 

Thor frowned. “Yes… it is in fact as pale as the _white fur lining_ on my cloak. The only way I can see you in this forest is because of your black hair, and your cloak linings of the same colour. You’re a wraith!”

 

“And if I were to put you against the walls of the palace, I wouldn’t see you at all. The golden prince, with his gold, flowing locks and mane. Give us a mighty roar, like the lions of Midgard!” he smirked, not expecting his brother’s loud battle cry in compliance. Birds took off from the trees around them, and something scarpered from a nearby bush into the mist. Thor laughed as Loki blinked and opened his mouth to speak.

 

“I know you weren’t serious. But I couldn’t pass up such opportunity. Now come, we really will miss this feast!”

 

“You run on ahead. I won’t be missed as much,” he said, gesturing up the path. The gates were becoming visible through the trees. Thor nodded, and gave him one last gleaming grin before setting off at a brisk pace. Loki perched himself on a nearby boulder and watched his brother until he had passed through the gates before pulling off his long gloves, lifting a handful of snow and tossing it into his own face. He gasped and shook his head, looking to the clouds as he let the melting snow drip off.

 

This was not an ideal situation.

 

\---

 

The feast was merry and loud. The table had groaned under hundreds of roasted creatures of all shapes and sizes, which had been killed in Thor and Odin’s recent hunting trip, and most goblets were filled with wine many times before the night was done. Everyone had sang and joked, and laughed at the court jesters, before the final dance of the evening. All of the guests, even those so laden with alcohol that they could barely stand, had went to the floor with a partner and were twirling around the room to the music.

 

Thor and Loki were sat with Frigga and Odin for some time, watching the others dance. Loki, himself, loved to dance, but he did not want to ask his preferred partner if they would do him the honour of joining him in fear of rejection, or even having his offer thought of as a joke. He was shocked, then, when his preferred partner asked _him._

 

Thor took a deep breath before resting a hand on Loki’s leg, making him jump. He removed his hand for a second as Loki turned to stare at him, but seemed to steel himself and put it back here it had been.

 

“Loki,” he started slowly, “Will you do me the honour of dancing with me?”

 

Loki felt himself grow hot again as he turned back to the dancing couples.

 

“It’s understandable if you don’t, I was just-“ Thor stared gruffly, folding his hands on his own lap and sitting straight, going very red indeed.

 

“Of course I will,” he answered, very aware of his mother and father eyeing them from across the table. He glanced at Thor and their eyes locked. He gave his brother a sheepish smile, and they both rose from the table to join the guests. After only a short time, however, Loki was much hotter than he could bear. When he could take it no longer, he cleared his throat and requested that they step outside. They made their way to the heavy doors that opened out onto the balcony.

 

The sharp winter air was a great relief, and almost all sound from the feast was blocked out as the doors closed behind them. Loki leaned on the stone parapet and stared up at the sky, where the stars shone every colour imaginable.

 

“I’m sorry, Loki. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” Thor muttered. Loki opened his mouth to speak, but Thor silenced him. “I know you only danced to appease me. I wish I had not asked.”

 

“No, no, I… I was going to ask you to dance too,” Loki said quickly, fixing his gaze on a particularly blue star.

 

“As… brothers? Friends?” he asked.

 

“No,” he replied, a little too quickly. His heart hammered against his chest as Thor turned him around and brushed a few stray strands of hair from his face. “And you? What were you asking as?”

 

“Certainly not as a friend or brother,” he replied, lightly stroking Loki’s cheek. Loki cleared his throat and returned to staring out at the cosmos. He was quite sure that, this time, his face was very flushed.

 

“What of Sif?”

 

“She is attractive. Strong-willed. _Strong_. But such things are trivial when compared to you.”

 

“I see.”

 

He froze as Thor placed himself beside him and took his hand. He made no move to speak, but seemed content to look over the forest with him, for which Loki was very glad indeed. The dull throb of sound coming from the feast was barely noticeable over the sounds of the forest and ocean, and the breath escaping from the two of them in misty plumes. He was quite unaware of how much time was passing; not that he cared. He could have stayed there for a very, very long time, had the doors not burst open behind them.

 

The both spun around to find Sif, breathless from dancing, cheeks flushed from alcohol, beaming at them from the doorway. “What are you both doing out here? You’re missing all of the fun!”

 

“We were… getting some air,” Loki answered.

 

“You’ve been out here for ages.”

 

“We were getting a lot of it.”

 

Sif raised a quizzical brow but said no more on the subject. She turned to Thor. “They’re playing your favourite piece soon. Will you join me?”

 

He turned to Loki, who shrugged. “I’m going to ask mother and father for permission to retire early. I’m developing quite a pain in my head. Go on, enjoy yourself,” he grinned. Thor nodded and, with a last smile over his shoulder, followed Sif back into the hall.

 

Loki exhaled slowly, pulling his hands down his face. He wasn’t sure if this had been an excellent or disastrous night. He re-entered the hall and headed towards his parents, promptly asking them for permission to leave. Picking one last cutting of cooling meat from his plate he headed to the exit, watching Thor and Sif dance as he did so, and was pleasantly surprised to see Thor looking back. He directed a brief wink at him, and Loki once again felt himself flush as he slipped into the hallway, leaving the noise, food, and his brother behind him.

 

~*~

 

Some hours later, just before dawn, Loki was awoken as something large weighed down his mattress. He turned himself over in the bed to find himself face to face with a sleepy and slightly intoxicated Thor.

 

“You’re in the wrong bed, you stupid oaf,” he grumbled, giving his brother’s chest a shove. “Yours is over there.”

 

“No, I’m in the right bed,” Thor mumbled, trailing his fingers down Loki’s bared chest. “I am most definitely in the right one.”

 

“Thor- please - what if someone-“ he stammered, breaking out into a slight sweat as he gave his brother another almighty shove that had very little effect. Thor placed a finger to his lips.

 

“No one is going to interrupt.”

 

“I don’t want there to be anything that someone could interrupt!” he snapped, resulting to bracing himself against the wall and shoving Thor from the bed with his feet, and his bedsheets with him. He leaned over and untangled his sheets from his brother’s limbs. “Thor, you are drunk. Go to your own bed.”

 

“Were we both drunk on that balcony?” Thor demanded, rubbing the back of his head as Loki fixed his sheets and pillows.

 

“There is an enormous difference between holding one another’s hands and sharing a bed,” he snarled.

 

“But-“

 

“Mother and father send guards in at intervals every night to make sure that we are alright. There is one due to come in _minutes_.”

 

Thor blinked in surprise. “I was not aware-“

 

“That much is obvious,” Loki snorted. “You sleep like a log; you always have done. Now _please,_ get into your own bed and never, _never_ even consider attempting to sleep in mine again.” With a huff, he turned to face the wall, hugging his sheets tightly. He heard Thor undress, and the creak as he finally lay on his own mattress.

 

“Loki?”

 

“Yes, Thor?” he said rather more sharply than he meant to.

 

“What of the events of the feast?”

 

“We should both wipe them from our minds and never speak of them again.”

 

“Why?”

 

But Loki had no chance to answer, as the sharp clinks of armoured feet echoed down the hallway. Moments later he heard the doors unlock and swing open. When the guard left a few minutes later, Thor’s quiet snores broke the silence.

 

The next morning, Thor awoke to see Loki gathering his things from the shelves. The room seemed particularly barren – almost all of the books were gone; all of Loki’s possessions were no longer on the tables, and his artwork had been removed from the walls.

 

He rubbed his eyes with clenches fists, and shot Loki a questioning look as he turned to face him.

 

“I’ve acquired my own room,” his raven-haired brother said curtly.

 

“Why?” Thor asked, sitting upright suddenly.

 

“I think it is in both of our best interests, _brother_ ,” he answered, stressing the last word. “I’ll see you at breakfast.”

 

Thor stared after him, thunderstruck. He fell back onto his mass of pillows and stared at the mosaic ceiling, which depicted Odin’s defeat of the Frost Giants, and mulled over the events of the previous day and Loki’s last words. It’s true, they were brothers. Maybe Loki assumed that their mother and father would not be pleased if something were to develop between them. He was most likely correct and he, unlike Thor, was not one for taking risks.

 

With a heavy sigh, he threw off his sheets and prepared to go to breakfast. When he arrived, Loki was indeed acting as though he had wiped the previous night from his mind and was treating him as he always did, but his smiles seemed strained, and on a number of occasions they caught each other staring from the corner of their eyes.


End file.
